


i believe in red

by Janusa



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Character Study, Dom/sub Undertones, Established Relationship, F/F, Possessive Behavior, mostly ramblings about lipstick and trying to relate red to everything, this was supposed to be just horny, with a sprinkle of sexual and cultural analysis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:00:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27651697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Janusa/pseuds/Janusa
Summary: Kara comes to the conclusion that talking to Lena is the mature thing to do. They are both adults in a stable relationship with open communication, there's no reason to feel nervous.There's no reason to be nervous and Kara would love if her brain could understand the message because the first thing that comes out of her mouth the next time she sees Lena is;"You're leaving lipstick marks on purpose."It comes out as an affirmation instead of the question she had planned to subtly slip into their conversation during lunch.Lena doesn't look surprised either by her abrupt entrance or words, she just reclines on her ergonomic office chair and shrugs with one shoulder, a coy grin never leaving her lips."And what about it?"
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 21
Kudos: 491





	i believe in red

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even remember where this idea came from and I'm not sure if this even makes some sense but I hope you folks like it.  
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated.
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr as @janusa for endless reblogs and lame sc edits.

Kara has never been an overtly sexual person. 

Kryptonians’ relationships were quite different from humans’ from what she remembers; they cared more about the compatibility of their ideas, knowledge, and such. Sexual attraction was inconsequential; more of a primal matter that didn't exactly fit in a society as intellectually advanced as theirs.

Sometimes Kara is not sure where she stands; she was born and raised Kryptonian during her formative years but she's been on Earth for more than half of her life now, trying to adopt and adapt herself as much as possible in order to go unnoticed and she's been left at some point in between. The idea doesn't cause her as much conflict as it used to do in her teen years and a part of her has even come to embrace it; the duality and contrast of both sides.

It’s not that she doesn't have sexual desires because she does; she's even masturbated a couple of times. Still, she used to consider it more of a biological thing than anything else, a reaction of her body to certain stimuli, nothing to pay much attention to. At least that's how it had been in her past relationships; her partners would touch her in the right way or places and her body reacted. 

Kara enjoyed those encounters (at least at a physical level), however, a part of her mind always felt somewhat disconnected during the act, like maybe she was not as into it as them. Things with Lena are different, though. 

Lena is…  _ Rao. _

Lena does not only arouse her body but also her mind. She sets her on fire with a sole gaze; with intense green eyes promising wicked things and sinful hushed words that never fail to make shivers run down her spine. Most of the time, Kara's head is hazy before they touch at all.

Logically, she knows every relationship is different, every person unique and special in their own way but she can’t help to compare her past partners with Lena. She doesn’t even need to analyze it or give it too much thought to notice how different being with her is. 

It's not that it's easier per se, because nothing about Lena is. Not her past, not her job or her emotional baggage but neither is Kara with the phantom of a destroyed planet, an entire culture and civilization that will be forgotten along with her, and the responsibility of a world that she tries so desperately to help but no matter how much she does, it's never enough.

So there's nothing easy about Kara's life and she's come to terms with that but having Lena in it makes her happier and she thinks she makes Lena happier too _._ And Kara is still figuring herself out, discovering different parts of herself; some good, some not so much but all of them revealing. 

Possessiveness, jealousy, envy, anger are the kind of things Kara has purged out of her system, or (worst-case scenario) avoided to show, especially as  _ Supergirl _ . Someone who does what she can do is one bad moment or misunderstanding away from becoming a national threat. She's been there before.

That’s why at first Kara tries to reign it in; the upsetting and very particular fire that from time to time ignites in the pit of her stomach. She notices it surges at different moments like when Tiffany -James's new assistant- is a little too giggly and attentive to Lena anytime she comes to CatCo, or when DEO agents seem very interested in Lena's backside especially now that she's been cleared as not downright 'evil'. 

But they are not the only ones getting on Kara's nerves. 

One word: tabloids. No, make them two: fucking tabloids.

Now, Kara isn't one to curse but this merits it because they seem to have moved on from the 'Lena Luthor: part of the terrorist dynasty' narrative to 'Lena Luthor: promiscuous billionaire'. Fair, one is not nearly as bad as the other, however, that doesn't change the fact it upsets Kara all the same because first, it's defamation and second, that's her girlfriend!

But Kara can't say anything because their relationship is technically a secret; not between their friends and family but just to the world. It's for the best, if their relationship went public there would be higher probabilities of someone connecting the dots between what are pretty much the only two blondes in Lena's life and using it against them.

(That was the speech Alex and John gave her and that Lena backed up when they found out about their relationship and that Kara regrets ever agreeing to).

Still, it makes Kara's blood boil to see Lena's picture casually chatting with Alex -who's wearing her false FBI uniform- on the cover of  _ What's New?  _ and a crass headline that reads 'Handcuff Me, Officer”. Kara is one tabloid away from stomping into Craig Wright's office and shoving the whole thing down his throat. If Cat were here she'd approve, she has a particular distaste for the man since the time at that cocktail in which he sent her to get him a drink and not because he had mistaken her with a waitress.

It’s stupid, really, and irrational for Kara to want to state a claim; she's racked her brains trying to find the motive but none of the possibilities feels credible enough, so maybe there's no reason or Kara just hasn't found it. The people who matter know about them, it should be enough ( _ but it’s not _ ). 

Kara tries to hide these feelings that she now calls 'the bugs'. Modesty aside, she thinks she's doing a darn good job; she only rolled her eyes at Tiffany once but in Kara's defense her skirt had gone two inches shorter after Lena entered CatCo, after that she gets to keep a straight face during Tiffany's whole exchange with  _ her girlfriend _ . 

She needs to tone it down a little bit more, the last thing she wants is to scare Lena off or for her to think that Kara is trying to control her or manipulate her somehow.

If there's something Lena isn't willing to compromise for anybody, not even Kara -however much she may care for her- is her free will.

Although Kara eventually learns some very important information; Lena is a bit possessive too.

The day Kara starts to notice doesn't happen anything special.

They are at Lena's office, just finished having lunch and Lena is carefully reapplying today's choice of  _ MAC Diva  _ that is the exact same shade as her silk shirt, she checks herself on her pocket mirror to make sure her makeup and hair are on point. They always are.

Kara stands up, readying to leave as she takes her satchel. Lena looks up at her from her seat on the couch and sighs.

"I'm sorry for cutting our lunch short, darling."

Kara shrugs. "You're a busy woman. Text me when you get home?"

Lena nods, already waiting for Kara to lean in and kiss her goodbye. They usually peck on the lips, they are in a workplace, today though, the kiss lands on her neck.

It's intentional, not the result of some miscalculation in their heights. One of Lena's hands wraps around her shoulder and the other goes to her jaw. The touch is barely there, close-mouthed but Kara feels it in every fiber of her body.

Lena doesn't acknowledge any of this simply sending her off in a semi-dazed state.

It's not until after some funny looks from her co-workers at CatCo that she asks Nia if there's something on her face.

"Your face? Nope, cute as always." says Nia, working on the edits of her latest article. "Your neck though is giving a pretty strong statement."

"What do you mean?"

The girl takes a small mirror out of her drawer and hands it to Kara, still not looking at her. She always gets like this when she's working on something she's passionate about.

She reminds Kara of herself -who's still receiving weird looks, by the way. Especially from Ryan of the economics column, that thinks he's being so sneaky but in fact is the most obvious of them all, glaring in Kara's direction at every given chance. When Kara looks at her reflection she understands why.

A very red and perfectly shaped kiss mark is on her neck. 

She takes a wet wipe from her drawer and removes the pigment as much as possible.

It doesn't take any major deduction abilities to guess where or from whom she got that kiss, especially when the next day Lena confidently strides in CatCo wearing the exact shade of red that painted Kara's neck yesterday.

This time, when Lena leaves after going through this month's edition with James, the mark is on her cheek.

Because apparently, Kara suffers from brain death whenever Lena is close.

Kara doesn't question Lena about the marks, doesn't think of them as anything but something that just _ happens  _ (even if they didn't use to happen before).

Most days Kara remembers to clean the lipstick off but there are days in which her mind turns into mush and she can barely remember how she got back to CatCo.

Like today, Kara's mind is still back in Lena's office, or their couch to be more specific. The memory of Lena pressing her against the white synthetic leather while she ravaged her mouth and squeezed her biceps is too much.

"She's clearly making a statement." Nia says from her side of the desk, bringing her back to a sad reality in which Lena isn't kissing her anymore.

Nia makes a motion circling Kara's mouth and she doesn't need to look at her reflection to know there's a big crimson smudge there.

"This is nothing." She tries to say with a nonchalance she doesn't feel. It's not the first time Nia refers to the stain as a 'statement' and Kara is not sure what she means.

Nia leans back on her chair and it squeaks under her weight. "C'mon, in Lena's language this is the equivalent of writing 'Property of Lena Luthor' on your forehead."

Kara scoffs. "Please, that's not true. Why would Lena think she needs to 'make a statement'?"

Nia narrows her eyes. "For the same reason you banged her in the DEO's lab after that government envoy kept hitting on her instead of doing his job."

Kara is pretty sure she looks like a fish out of the water, trying to form a semi-coherent answer.

"That's not-"

"I see _ the future,  _ Kara." Nia says with an unimpressed look. "Why do you think no one caught you?"

She tries to look nonchalant, scratching her nape with her pen. "Oh, was it-" 

"Yes." Nia answers Kara's unfinished question. "You're welcome but please don't do it again."

"We won't." she promises with a blush covering her face.

They both know it's a lie.

Red is a color associated with an infinity of meanings like love, passion, desire, strength, leadership, courage, power, or determination.

It's a color that has always been present in her life, it also is kind of Lena's color and Kara can see why. She embodies it so well. Red lipstick especially is Lena's trademark, something Kara has come to associate with her. 

It's because of this that she notices the change. Nia had said Lena was trying to prove something and although at first, she was reticent to believe it now seems obvious.

One of the things that distinguishes Lena is her impeccable appearance, and that includes her makeup. It's one of the reasons she preferred long-lasting lipsticks; no need for multiple appliances when she barely has the time to stop drinking water.

She has become so good at testing lipsticks -out from Lena’s lip but still counts- that she could start writing a review column. 

What's even become Kara's life that now she's able to differentiate  _ NARS starwoman _ from  _ Fenty's uncensored _ ? All the makeup she owns is mascara and four bars of  _ ChapStick _ because she likes to have a variety of flavors.

Although to be fair, her vision allows her to see things others can't. So lately Lena's lipsticks have changed, their permanence on Lena's lips has decreased and she knows this because she takes research very seriously, not because she just can't keep her hands and mouth off her girlfriend.

That's stupid, she's  _ Supergirl _ , name someone with a stronger will than hers. That's right, you can't.

Kara comes to the conclusion that talking to Lena is the mature thing to do. They are both adults in a stable relationship with open communication, there's no reason to feel nervous.

There's no reason to be nervous and Kara would love if her brain could understand the message because the first thing that comes out of her mouth the next time she sees Lena is;

"You're leaving lipstick marks on purpose." 

It comes out as an affirmation instead of the question she had planned to subtly slip into their conversation during lunch.

Lena doesn't look surprised either by her abrupt entrance or words, she just reclines on her ergonomic office chair and shrugs with one shoulder, a coy grin never leaving her lips.

"And what about it?" 

All of a sudden Kara has forgotten how to speak English, how to produce words so she lets out a sound that sounds half like a screech and half like a “why?”

“Red looks good on you.” 

There's a soft rap of knuckles on the door and Jess's head appears behind the door.

"Miss Luthor, your lunch is here." 

The woman enters the office and places the containers on the table in front of the white couch. 

"Thank you, Jess." says Lena as a dismissal. "You can take your break now."

"Shall we eat? We don't want cold lo mein."

And just like that, the topic is put on pause for the time that takes them finishing up nine orders of potstickers, three orders of lo mein noodles, ten spring rolls, and four portions of fried rice.

The food containers have been discarded and now they are in the middle of a lazy make out session. Given their position Lena is hovering over her, slightly taller and pulling Kara in by the chin for a slow and messy kiss that tastes a little bit like teriyaki sauce and green tea. She lets herself be manhandled, pliant under Lena’s touch, her own hands resting to her side on the white faux leather of the couch and the woman’s collarbone with fingertips skirting the neckline of Lena's dress, almost skimming her skin.

Kara almost jumps out of her skin when one of the other woman's hand slips under her skirt, far up her thigh with her fingers digging in her flesh.

A moan forms in her throat and gets stuck there, not quite finding its way out with her mouth occupied. Lena descends to her neck, sucking marks that won't stay there but Kara won't stop her from trying when it feels that good.

Kara throws her head back on the couch, Lena's hand  _ finally _ moving up, her fingers so close from where she needs them, not even flying around a trip to the Earth leaves her this worked up. She wants Lena's hand to move away her panties to finish her off or close her legs tight together, anything that relieves the quasi painful throbbing in her clit.

However, she's recovered enough conscience to hear her surroundings, and even though, smooth white ceiling is all she's seeing, she can hear the people coming and going outside the office, stopping to talk a few feet from the door, Jess entering the building and talking on the phone with her boyfriend Alonso.

"I think I should get going-" she says, drawing away from under Lena and trying to recover her breath. 

She leaves two feet of space between them as if that could stop the prickling in her skin and the mess between her legs.

“There’s this article I have to finish, and you know how Snapper gets when I'm late." she manages to answer with a nervous laugh that borders on hysterical.

But Lena's intensity doesn't diminish in the slightest.

"Snapper is not your boss _, I_ am." 

There's authority in Lena's tone, it leaves no place for rebuttal, so when she does the universal come hither gesture and Kara has no other choice but to obey.

"Are you still hungry?" It's a tricky question, Lena knows Kara is always at least a little bit hungry. She nods. "Would you like to eat something else?"

"Like what?"

Lena's posture is relaxed but leaves no questions as to whom is the one in charge here; legs crossed one over the other, she bents the arm resting in her knee and cups her chin in one palm. Her free hand is firm on Kara's shoulder, telling her what to do without the need for words.

She kneels in front of Lena, who leans down to level her look with Kara's, she doesn't look nearly as put together as she sounds; her dress is wrinkled beyond repair, there are locks of hair flying out of her chic bun and her lipstick had left the defined contours of her lips.

If Kara didn't faint with the sight she will with Lena's next words.

"Me." She murmurs, their lips brushing but not fully touching. Lena lays against the couch's backrest and opens her legs in clear invitation.

Kara instinctively licks her lips.

Not more than a minute has passed since she would have practically begged Lena to make her come but this is a nice turn of events, there's only one goal in her mind and that is making come so hard her legs will be shakier than a newborn deer.

She splays her hands flat on Lena's thighs and the woman pushes up her dress until it's sitting rolled on her hips.

The only thing that separates her from Lena's cunt is her panties, she's wearing the deep green set with lace, one of Kara's favorites, she pulls Lena closer by the hips to the border of the coach. 

Lena's aroma fills her nostrils and her mouth starts to water.

"The article wasn't a lie, I really need to finish it, so I'll be quick."

Lena yanks her hair and if she had been human it would have hurt but all it does for her alien self is turn her on even more.

"Just get your mouth on me." Lena says in a severe but breathless voice and Kara is nothing but obedient to her request.

It becomes a common occurrence.

No, no the fucking in Lena's office (although they have repeated it a few times since that day). What has become a common occurrence is marking each other. 

Kara has started leaving hickeys just below Lena's cleavage, it does a hell of a lot for her libido seeing her girlfriend's smooth porcelain skin and knowing what's under the expensive clothes she wears to work every day. And for Lena? Well, she can't actually mark Kara -the red sun lamps are still a work in process-, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t try; to no avail, of course but Lena is stubborn; that's why she found a temporary solution on lipstick.

Nia and Alex joke about them being 'horn dogs', Kelly says it's part of the Honeymoon Phase and Brainy pretty much says they're going high on estrogens, serotonin, and a whole list of chemicals. John just wants to be left out of this.

But none of them get it. It's more than sexual pleasure or possessiveness, it's belonging. It's Lena claiming Kara as hers because she chose to and not only because she was one of the cards life dealt for her and grew fond of it.

She sighs and moves her neck to the side to allow eager lips to continue their way down. Lena’s naked body is flushed against hers, hands wander down Kara’s sides, she’s sweaty after a round of lovemaking but the urge in her touches talks of a long night ahead. Kara buries her fingers in Lena’s raven locks when the woman’s tongue circles a nipple. 

Lena is in bed as she’s in the lab; passionate, focused, and goal-oriented, she made a mission of incrementing Kara’s sensitivity since she can’t feel the same ways humans do. So far, fingering still doesn’t do much for her but her nipples…  _ Oh, Rao. _

“Wait, wait.” She says, and pulls Lena up by the shoulders, feeling overwhelmed and raw all over. Lena looks at her, there’s a myriad of emotions dancing in the emeralds of her eyes but love is the one that predominates, it always does. “Kiss me.”

The kiss is gentle, Lena cradles her face in both of her hands with so much care that makes Kara feel fragile, nothing like the god-like figure the world sees when she puts on the suit. Earth's gravity has never applied to her but the kiss and Lena’s weight on top of her ground her. 

It's nice, having Lena's emblem scattered all over her body and to have Lena's mouth to be its seal.

After everything, they stay in bed in a tangle of limbs that is too comfortable to even move despite the looks of it.

Lena’s lips are swollen and she has smudged lipstick all over her face. It's unbelievable, how such a mundane thing like a color can hold so much meaning. 

But for Kara red isn't just red.

For her, red is the color that takes her fury, heat behind her eyes, it's Alex's broken arm and throwing her frustrations off a building. It's looking sunsets through the window of her dad's lab, her mother's favorite flower, and a piece of cloth that reminds her of family and an unfulfilled duty (and nightmares, red is always in her nightmares). It's a part of her lost in Kasnia, lonely and gullible, and the memory of her first meeting with Lena. It’s also late night conversations over glasses of red wine and of course, kisses. 

For Kara, red is a lot of things but lately, there has been just one word rounding her mind that encompasses them all, 

_ home _ .


End file.
